Tag Archives: pass

Day 5 – Like clockwork

My plan was, to say it mildly, not well liked. It better work like a charm, or I would have gone to the dog house for a very long time. I suggested to add about 50km to the trip to our campground to go back to Germany for our mandatory rapid covid test (needed for entry to Italy). The main reason: 140€ less for the two of us. Germans get their tests for free in Germany. Secondly, it was way less hassle to get an appointment in Konstanz compared to Wil – it is a major border town and has about 10 full-time testing sites to choose from.

The kids were a bit over eager and were up an hour ahead of schedule, but overall the morning went according to plan. Nothing was left, that we could tell, and the heartfelt goodbyes were made easier by knowing that we will see each other again fairly soon. I did forget my car key fob in my other pants, but we only lost 15 minutes.

And so, in time for our 10.27am test appointment we rolled into the car park in Konstanz. It was all pretty orderly, so within 15 minutes we were out again with an electronic results form to be delivered within 20 minutes. I was even able to add a bonus stop to remedy a previous fail on my part: MediaMarkt had both a generic charger for Nina’s laptop to replace the one I forgot in Germany for just 27€ and a cheap usb hard drive replacement since ours died the previous night after 10 years of hard travel.

Next up DM (a kind of drug store, minus the real pharmaceuticals) – I also forgot to take any charger for our three identical electric toothbrushes. Good thing Phoebe still needed one, since they come with a charger. Better still, DM also offers printing on demand, so we could commit our fresh (negative) rapid tests down to paper – just in case. I must admit, time has crept up on us a bit, so at 11.20 am already, we also stocked up on some sandwiches for lunch in the car.

[Nina: It was here that I made the colossal mistake of letting Number 3 ride on a coin-operated train for ONE SINGLE COIN while waiting on Flo to finish all his tasks. Such a huge mistake. Though, at the time I thought Number 3 was really good as he got off the toy train without any complaints.]

The eating part was fine, but 10 minutes into the actual 229km drive to our campsite we realised we forgot to check on the Agent of Entropy. The diaper was, of course, full. Alright, another brief pit stop in some sort of quiet office park. Diaper changed, consolatory feed given … just in time for Number 3 to announce he would definitively and 100% certainly need another potty break. In the car, to the supermarket and the kid rushed inside … and it turned out it was a lie, since he was expecting another coin-operated toy train thingy ride after the business was done. Nina was not amused … 30 minutes for 3 km.

But that was our last hiccup … almost. Next stop was a rest stop with a few fast chargers for Puru Hiko. She was doing excellent, anyways. But then, 9 km before the exit, Number 3 decided it was time to play around and pull the emergency eject (i.e. the door lever going 110km/h on the motorway). Car started a panic inducing beep, wind rushed, Nina half jumped and pulled the door mostly shut again. I know, I could have set the child lock on the door – but this way, he has learned his lesson for life, I am quite sure of it …

Fast charging was uneventful – I mean, this is Switzerland after all. The toilets were clean enough I almost wouldn’t hesitate dining off them. Complete with coin-operated Heidi animatronics … that kind of thing. I restrained myself from buying a 10€ plant based whopper (try it though, really good … just not in Switzerland).

This left us well prepared for the last leg of the trip – 2 hours for 113 km. We did have to come up to 2114m to go over the Splügen Pass, after all. This was SO MUCH FUN! At least for me – the other three got rather motionsick, with the Agent of Entropy actually giving in on our way down from the saddle. Nina and I realised that we had done this exact same pass on the motorcycle before, roughly 10 years ago and coming from the other direction. That was then our second long-distance trip on the bike – or in other words, 70.000 km ago. Something to chew on 😀

Driving an EV on this road is second only to our bike, I would say. Blue George was fun because it was so nimble, and I think the electric version with only 2 passengers would be even cooler than our fully loaded 3 ton family car, just for that go-cart feel. But the sheer amount of torque without any interruptions for gear changes makes going uphill in an EV just a smile-fest. And going down, recuperation takes a huge amount of load off the breaks, so that you can be quite aggressive without risking break damage.

The others disagreed a bit – so with three white-faced passengers, we turned into a great and friendly campsite in a stunning location deep down in the Mera valley. The place is called after the adjacent waterfall: Acquafraggio. And even though we had our fill of waterfalls, this one is a real stunner, visible from the campground. We had absolutely no hesitation locking in a 3 night stay – quite unusual for us in most places.

Time to let it sink in – we are here. We are travelling. On the road again, at last!

Goodbye – Christine first, as she had an appointment. Her wee one got confused 😀

Day 291 – Thick as a brick

Our awesome view was almost entirely replaced by fog and rain

As we got up in the morning, we sure got a load full of what Iranians come here for: Thick fog and drizzly rain. We got up a bit early since our guesthouse owner insisted, three times, that we would leave at 8 am. Everything was done, packed and ready to go onto the bike – yet no guy and thus no passport anywhere in sight. We made the best of it and got the bike loaded up. When it was all done, there was still no one to be seen. I gave him a call in the end and I am pretty sure I woke him up, that joker.

Almost an hour late and packed like little Michelin men we hopped on the bike to brave the rain. I briefly considered taking the pass from here to Tabriz, but a quick inquiry revealed that it was unsealed. Not something I’d like to tackle in the cold and wet. That meant back to the Caspian Sea and due north instead.

Sorry for the creepy look. That’s what you get for trying to take pictures in the pouring rain!

Nina’s comment: We stopped shortly in the first village that we reached from Masuleh: Fouman. Already on the way in I had seen posters of a particular kind of pastry everywhere. Now, on the way back, I bought two of them to try. It’s a pastry filled with a cinnamon paste that is eaten warm and it was just the thing to try when you ride through the rain. By the time we thought of taking a picture, even Flo had bitten into his. The boy who had sold me the pastries saw what we were doing and ran out into the rain to give me a free third one so that we could take a picture of a whole one. So freaking nice!

The forests are so wet that fog escapes from them into the sky

The ride along the coastline was much the same, but at least with fewer towns and tacky tourism than yesterday. Repeated showers hit us from a clouded sky in regular intervals while we made good progress towards the pass to Ardabil. We did briefly consider to stay at the coast, but we were still itching for some more km (and better weather).

The pass was a dodgy affair in the rain and with heaps of weekend traffic. It got even more disconcerting when we hit the cloud level and visibility was reduced to 25m at times. Even this did not stop some Peykamicazees to barrel on at 75 km/h. I was mostly worried with how slippery the road was.

Another round of emptying out the puddle

It was a big relief to hit the top and come over onto the Ardabil plain. Just, that it was cold, so very cold. It got better for me when I drained my left shoe for the second time of the day and ran some laps to heat up.

Back on the bike, a noise that started this morning got me more and more worried. A metallic rattle when accelerating. It was a bit hard to pin down, since it only sounded in gear under load. All potential loose screws were checked but nothing could be found. When we started looking for a camp spot, I got one more clue and it was horrifying. I could feel a rattling crunch via the gear lever, further narrowing the scope. Some loose part in the gear box? 1000 km before the border? Nothing could be done for now though, so we continued our search for the spot while moving towards the next item on our “to see” list.

Looks like the perfect environment for camping

The third try was the charm this time. After a beautiful site that unfortunately was always in view of the road and another one that had a settlement nearby, we scored. A little orchard tucked about 100m from a bend in the road provided perfect cover from prying eyes and the deep grass made for a great camp spot. It was quite cold though, as it turned out after dinner.

Regarding the bike, I went to bed thinking I might have dodged a huge bullet, though. While doing one last thorough check and opening the front sprocket cover to check for damage there, I noticed scratch marks on the chain. It was loose! Like, really loose and it looked like it had scratched a lot today. Come to think of it, the last time I adjusted the chain was in Sohar … idiot that I am. Let’s see. Tomorrow’s first kilometers will tell.

: Our awesome view was almost entirely replaced by fog and rain

: Sorry for the creepy look. That’s what you get for trying to take pictures in the pouring rain!

: Flo emptied out the puddle in his boot. It made him rather miserable

: The setting was great though: Thick forests all around

: Rice fields under a grey sky

: The forests are so wet that fog escapes from them into the sky

: Going up the pass

: Visibility dropped down

: Another round of emptying out the puddle

: Finally sun! Heading north into Azarbayjan, the northern province of Iran

: Plains of Azarbayjan

: Lower hills and lots of space

: Looks like the perfect environment for camping

: Small country roads are the best

: Passing another flock of sheep

: Amazing view into the valley but totally in view of the road

: Riding on through the hills

: Short piece of dirt track

: Hiding behind an orchard

Day 286 – Over the hills and far away

Another bright and sunny day!

The night had been slightly eerie as we could hear the wolves howl. I was happy when the sun was back up and we could pack and leave. I know that there were enough sheep around that no wolf would be interested in us but still…

All of today was dedicated to exploring the Alamut valley. We started with a stint to Evan Lake which was the back-up camping option yesterday. Arriving at the tiny lake with lots of rubbish at the shore and almost no privacy, we were glad that we’d camped in the fields. However, on the way out we met a retired French couple doing an overland trip in a 4WD. They were lovely even though the conversation was in French (go Flo!) and gave us the coordinates of a possible campsite further on.

almost back on the main road now

The next “attraction” in the Lonely Planet is a road that leads through or alongside canyons. Flo found a loop that we could ride to not double up and so we went in on river-level. First, we follow the road along the ride with the cliff side to your right. It was hard to photograph as the sun was right behind the cliffs. After a while, the road starts to wind up into the mountains. From here, you can look into the valley with the canyons below. Again, we saw the tents of nomads up here.

Full service overland adventure …

On route to Alamut Castle, the next of the famed Assassins’ castles, we saw a group of overlanders parked in a little side alley. They rode down from Switzerland in a tour, complete with support vehicle full of spare parts and tires, and will continue for a month. Thus, they were in a bit of a hurry…once a flat tire was fixed. We talked to them until we were near melting, standing in full gear in the sun.

A quick roadside lunch at the Alamut Castle parking lot prepared us for the hike up to the castle. The “Assassins” were prosecuted and thus quite paranoid when they built their castles here: There is no easy entrance and no easy siege. The mountainside is steep so the narrow staircase is the only way up (the second entrance has been destroyed).

one wing of the castle. Must have been decently manned

Alamut Castle is the one with a bit more structure remaining but it is also the one where you have to pay a fee and most of it is covered in scaffolding. We were a bit disappointed, yesterday’s castle had much more to offer.

Technically, the “attractions” end here. There is a pass leading out of the valley all the way to the Caspian Sea but the Lonely Planet only describes it for hiking. The French overlander couple from his morning came in that way and while the views are gorgeous, they said the road was in bad condition and muddy. They were happy to have 4WD. Thus, I was not keen to go that way. However, coming from Alamut valley, most of the road up is sealed. Flo wanted to go as high up as possible…fair enough. First, the road continued on in the valley in a rather unimpressive way. When the incline finally started, the road became interesting again. Up and up and up and up. When we seemed to be level with the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the valley, the tarmac ended and Flo stopped as promised. We took a couple of pictures of the valley, Rocinante and us before heading back down.

The ‘final’ view – pretty cool

It was late enough to look for a camping spot but we were lacking in the important departments of food, water and fuel. So we hopped from village to village hoping to remedy these lacks without having to go too far. The first shop, with a lovely owner, had water, eggs and veggies for us. Good start but not all we needed. Again, he gave us the things for half the price and a toffee on top. The next village supplied cheese and bread but fuel was only available in the third village. By now it felt late. The first possible spot next to a field of wheat was ours.

Flo cooked the tomato-egg dish for me that Azemeh had made for breakfast all those days ago. It worked well and was delicious with bread and the seed mixture that Azemeh had given us as well. Well fed, we had a short visit by a shepherd asking for water before settling in for the night.

: Another bright and sunny day!

: Heading east, towards the rising sun

: Alamut valley is famous for it’s rice terraces. Did not expect to see those again so soon.

: Nice and circular in a way. Sheep are equally stupid all around the world

: Turn off number 1

: Lovely couple. Unfortunately, we forgot to ask for their names.

: Most impressive from afar

: back on the main road

: they were pretty impressive

: but the light was not right

: the other side was right, but less impressive

: random turtle on the road – pretty high up actually

: The ridge road on the other side gave us better views

: looking good from up here

: the road we took in seen from above

: And always the snow capped mountains once you are a bit up

: almost back on the main road now

: Hard to focus on the road – but we were going slow

: Pickups are the new camels / donkeys

: one last look at the canyons from above

: Full service overland adventure …

: It was steeper than it looks

: The final steps up the castle

: Not much to see – protective scaffolding from anno 1984

: the wind blew nicely through this dugout towards a lookout point

: the view to be defended

: there are a lot of them around, and pretty big

: one wing of the castle. Must have been decently manned

: fooling around at the edge

: it will be sad once the underpuff is gone

: first time we got a good photo

: almost at the end, after this, the road goes up over the pass

: white peaks peeking

: that motorcycle magazine shot at the end of today’s route

: The ‘final’ view – pretty cool

: looks like gravel, but is very dirty tarmac

: no matter how high you go, someone will always have brought up some lifestock

: It even had a neat waterfall

: checking where to put the then, I promise

: The creation was actually pretty good

: chasing the signal at dusk

Day 285 – Assassini, assassini!

On the road to the mountains

Rejuvenated, we left our guest house in Hamadan in good time to tackle the 340 km for the day with little worry. I was looking forward to some more camping, but if we had to stay in a hotel, I wish it would always be like this one.

The road started out really flat, with only the occasional hill to hop along the way to Qasvin, the gateway to the Alamut valley. We reached it in time for a slightly late lunch and settled in our hurry for an overpriced restaurant in town, only to end up with kebab and salad once more.

All the more reason to leave for the mountains – not least to escape the heat. On our way out, we grabbed some of our now standard dinner / breakfast fare of bread and cheese. Once more, the local baker could not be persuaded to take our money.

Great views from the road

There are only two sealed passes from Qasvin over into the valleys – we decided to take the western one in, and work our way east to take the eastern one on our way out. That meant the first point of interest would be Lamiasar Castle, one of the famed castles of the Assassins.

But before that, the pass itself was the first real attraction. Rising steadily from 1200m to 2300m, this narrow mountain road was just our cup of tea. When we first dipped over and saw the snow-capped peaks of the Alborz Mountains, we slowed down and started exploring a bit. One of the dirt tracks leading off to a particularly epic lookout / picnic spot lead us right into another Persian encounter. A family seemed to have arrived shortly before us and was getting ready for their picnic. The spot was so nice that if it were not for them, we probably would have camped right there. Instead we took pictures and got invited to tea right away.

A better look on the affair

We once again did not share any language, so conversations were had by pointing and gesturing a lot. We got treated very kindly and had to take the chance to leave at an opportune moment, just before the chicken skewers over the fire were done or we probably would have spent the rest of the evening up here. We could not, though: there was a castle to be seen. We were not even stopped by the swarms of crickets trying to suicide themselves on the road in droves.

It looked even more like Altaïr in reality 🙂

It was a nice but exhausting climb up to the ruin of Lamiasar Castle. Not much is left up top, though. The Mongols really knew how to raze a castle. We still enjoyed climbing around the impressive site all on our own in the afternoon light.

Soon enough, it was time to look for a camp spot. Our first try further up the side valley was a nice ride, but did not score any good site. Instead, we headed back for the main road and towards the next point of interest from the guidebook. After maybe 3 more tries, we did find a lovely and secluded patch of green near the road but just out of view for anyone around. This time, we really appreciated the longer days further north, as we got everything set up just in time to have a sunset dinner …